Here's to a New Living Room...

It's not ours yet but see how it's all square and not narrow, I'm so excited to hear when we can move in!
After a few hastily put together tweets, I guess the secret is out and after just a few short weeks of hunting, Moon and I have found a house!

It's quite a nice house too, in Bicester, which will be new to us but is a much better location for work and therefore work-life balance. A couple of brief trips around Bicester town centre indicate that I might like it, but Oxford's not too far away and we'll be spending so many weekends DIYing from here to what seems like eternity that maybe it won't matter that there's not much of a space for weekend pottering.

I am joking, the new little house is actually in pretty great knick, with just a bit of painting to do and a tiny issue with the en-suite shower room tiles, which is mainly down the laziness rather than there actually being anything wrong - and will apparently be fixed before we move in - though it's relatively inexpensive to do ourselves so we're not holding our breath either way.

I am excited but I'm still reluctant to shout it from the rooftops just yet because as horror stories dictate, it could all go wrong. I hope it won't and in my heart of hearts I don't think it will but it's still a (very expensive) situation to be approached with caution.

Apparently we've done the hard part of getting our offer accepted, a whirlwind 20 minute ride the weekend before last, exchanging 1-minute phone calls with the estate agents. Now we're waiting on the bank to officially approve us and for our solicitors to do 'searches'.

We're pretty lucky that we haven't got an upper chain so it should all run quite smoothly but I still don't feel the actual exciting part will come until we're in there, in our overalls painting over the current, incredibly dark, bedroom walls. DIY tips on a postcard, please.

I guess you're to expect a few wishlist posts and other things that come with house-buying but I wanted to get you up to date before that. I'm still very much in a bit of a blogging funk but as I've noticed over the years this tends to happen in the post-Christmas lull so I'm sure once spring arrives I'll have a bit more energy and motivation.

Dear Diary...

[source]
Things have been pretty text-heavy around here lately, I don't really care though.

It's January and I've felt much more like writing things than taking photographs, plus, literally my whole weekend was stolen by house-hunting, with no fruits of that labour to show.

I even made a 100 mile round-trip to look at a house we were considering (maybe) being interested in 'off-plan' but, and this is despite the fact it was 3 bedrooms (and a house), it was super-pokey and might even have been smaller than our current little (rented, horrible + cold) flat.

I'm not saying we're in a slump after less than two weeks of trying, but to not find anything that's even worth a think is kind of disheartening.

Oh well, there are a few slightly more fun things to look forward to in the coming weeks and I might get at least some of my weekend back this week. I mean I actually thought this house-hunting thing would be fun but after the third or fourth call to a different estate agent about some other house I'm not sure about it, I kind of lose steam before I've even really got fired up. *phew

House-Hunting Truths

Here are some things I'm finding that I've had to get used to this week.

Suddenly calling my boyfriend my partner — We're still only 25, and yeah, we've been together 9 years this year, but that's still weird.

Perspective — In no other realm is £200,000 considered cheap.

Getting prepared to hand over all our money in the world in the blink of an eye — This game moves quickly, and it's crazy and scary but apparently how things need to be done.

Rightmove and Zoopla are not the house hunting saviours they claim to be — Actually speaking face-to-face with estate agents and (unfortunately) sales people (when it comes to new builds) is how to get things moving, so it feels kind of similar to job hunting. So while you'll be asked 50 times what your email and the first line of your address is, it seems like it's the best way to actually get to see a house you might (if you're like lightning) be able to put an offer in for. Also, apparently some estate agents put things up on a right move for the hell of it rather than because they're actually available.

Help-To-Buy is not actually particularly helpful — The age-old saying that if something sounds to good to be true then it probably is. While it sounds incredibly attractive to pay much less for a house now than you would without the help of this government scheme, the whole thing seems designed to land you in even more debt in the long run. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is how I see it; with Help-To-Buy you'll be able to borrow 20% of the value of your new home interest-free for 5 years (brilliant, where do I sign up?). Here's the catch, after these five years, when you're likely to be thinking about re-financing, you can either pay off the lump-sum, because people can often manage to save that amount of money that easily in that short space of time, or you can add it to your mortgage, meaning you'll owe more money on that than you did five years ago, with interest. It seems to me that they're really taking advantage of non-forward thinkers and here was the real kicker that put me off it for good - if after 5 years you want to sell your home, you have to pay 20% of that value rather than the original amount of money you borrowed. Brilliant.
I would bet - given that reserving a home under help-to-buy with new builds is half the price, that most developers are in kahoots and with some having such great sales people, it's certainly something I would watch out for.

No viewing before open houses — Because even though someone can come out from under your nose and steal a home you want to buy anyway, it's more courteous that everyone should view it first, on the same day, in the most intense house-viewing circumstances ever.

Everyone's got an in-house mortgage advisor — It looks like this house-hunting 'journey' is really going to teach me to say 'no'.

Lists are not enough — With phone calls, call-backs, e-mails and my own Internet scouring, it's already kind of difficult to keep track of where I'm going, what I'm looking at and what my next step is. Like, I'm meant to be going to an open house today, the viewing is at 3pm but I have no idea where it is, I wrote the first part down but was meant to get an e-mail and that's as far as it got. Worst part, I don't remember who it was with so I can't even give them a call-back to find out; they're in a long list that has since started to mean nothing to me. Good.

I've likened house-hunting to job hunting a lot this week and if you've followed me for a long time, you'll know how much I hated job hunting after I first graduated. It's still not something I would say I'm particularly enamoured with but luckily it's not something that's on my mind right now anyway. House-hunting might even be worse, because at least you're not giving away £hundreds of thousands to get what you want when you're looking for a job and even with that scary money element, there still comes rejection. Awful.

Obviously I've just got to see how it goes and while I'm still excited, I'm scared and frustrated too, I've had enough of horrible carpets, wonky cupboards, upstairs neighbours and no double glazing, I just want to get things going.

Let the Search Begin!

*20-something House-Hunting Klaxon*

One of my goals for January was to have a provisional mortgage idea in place so Moon and I would have a budget to work with to get on the house-hunting bandwagon, well, check. This weekend we took ourselves round a few new developments that are closer to work and it looks like our journey has begun.

Although I'd love to stay in Newbury and it's so much more affordable than Oxford (we won't end up in Oxford anyway), the time and the energy we've been using up in these recent months has made staying here much less worth it.

I'm really pleased with our progress this weekend, armed with a healthy idea for a budget and a list of developments with showhomes we were off to an amazing start and I actually may have fallen hard for the first house we saw.

It would have been actually incredible to go for the first house we'd picked and not worry, but it's a lot of money and there's lots to worry about. There were a couple of cons going for this 'dream home', it was in the middle of the countryside (but still half the distance to Oxford than it is from Newbury) and the transport links weren't amazing (only buses every hour, but still fine as we both drive). I was still in love but sadly it wasn't meant to be as after returning for a second viewing of the showhome the following day we were told that it had been reserved just an hour before!

I must admit, I didn't get why everyone said that what we were embarking on was exciting but I couldn't help but feel a flutter of anticipation with the potential of this cute 2 bedroom semi-detached being mine. Still, I guess the hunt goes on and I have a list of places to get viewing this week.

We actually saw two potential houses this weekend, one from David Wilson (dream home) and one from Carter Jonas (the furthest from my idea of a nice house as a new home could be, statement staircase and triangular rooms? Yeah nah!). It was so difficult to gather myself and put things into perspective when I liked the first one so much and the second one was such a disappointment, so I'm pretty happy that I've got Moon by my side as such a realist.

The other estates we visited had the fanciest high-spec showhomes but still the dream home lingered..

This feels like a very important time in my life, which is a very big thing to say and yeah, this weekend has been a pretty exciting rollercoaster but also a total eye-opener. I guess here marks the beginning of something big.

#782

This is a blog showcasing a few photos from my Easter Weekend. It's definitely all come crashing back to reality. I am so ill, and so are the rest of my family, apart from about two of them. Now when the twins are grown up, all I will remember of my first encounter with them is how they gave me the worst stomach bug I've had in forever, damn child germs, I've been in bed all day. I'm only emerging because I feel slightly better, not normal, but a bit better, still incredibly achey.

I'd like to ask for forgiveness in advance, the photos from when I was out at the pub were particularly blurry because for some reason I set the ISO to just 400, which doesn't mix well with dingy pub lighting. I hope you had a good Easter bank holiday and aren't seeing in the post-holiday period riddled with disease.

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This is from Thursday's quiz, where we came second! Due to it being busy, we won a grand total of £15 in prize money. It's going back on tomorrow's quiz, which I hope I'll be better for.


I was pretty unhappy when I wore these on their first outing but now their probably the second-comfiest pair of flats that I own.
Thanks, ASOS.



This is all the freebie salad Moon was given from work. I must say that it's a perk I didn't know that I wanted, but one that I enjoy. Isn't the packaging devine? It received great reviews from my family when it was served on Easter Monday, a lot tastier than 'standard salad' apparently, so there you go.



My Gran has been going through her old slides, apparently from the late 60s to early 70s she doesn't really have any physical prints as everything she shot was on slides. I've mentioned before my admiration for my Gran's photography skills, and it was a really neat and communal way to look at the images. The projector is from Boots and still going strong from when Gran was shooting all these photographs, the photo-geek in me was more than impressed. She also has a hand-held projector, which looks something like this, but after it was repaired, some numpty broke it again, it was a bit hit though and another interesting way to take in photographs.


I honestly didn't spend every evening in a pub, this was a funny old night.


On Sunday, Moon, Chris and I drove over to Pease Pottage's car boot, which I'm sure would be incredibly if we hadn't picked one of the drizzliest days ever. I'm hoping that if this coming Sunday offers up some warmer weather, I'll be able to snap up some bargains.


I kept leaving my window open and Moon kept being cross. ♥


Chris' mum asked him to get some parsnips, Pease Pottage didn't have any. Am I wrong to think aubergines are more obscure than parsnips?



Like I said, sorry for the terrible pub photos, but this burger was delicious, no one else really liked theirs.



I picked up these from Dorking's carboot, they were vile, I've firmly learnt my lesson.






Walter


Gilbert


Who would have guessed that such adorable people could essentially wipe out an entire family.

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Urgh, back to my pit I go. I only hope that Moon wasn't another victim, he doesn't take being ill very well and it's only the second week in his new job. We're getting reference forms for the flat sent out this evening, our move date is as early as the 15th, I don't think it will not be weird until I'm actually living there.

Tuesday Tabs. #13

I was in a pretty good mood, until I had to refund a silly woman on eBay because the Post Office hadn't delivered her item and I'd lost proof of postage. That issue was ruining my Paypal which I needed to use to fork out a further £59 on the referencing fee for our flat in Newbury. So I'm nearly £80 with literally nothing to show for it, and I was actually doing amazingly well with money up until about five minutes ago. I suppose a long-winded complaint to Royal Mail should mean I at least get some of my missing money back.

Otherwise, everything is going okay, much better than last week. I'm still majorly bummed-out about the job situation but that isn't going to change until I actually have a job so there's nothing much I can really do. I'm hoping it might be easier to get a job near Newbury when I'm actually in Newbury, it sound ridiculous that a recruiter would be instantly put off by my postcode because if I get in on time I don't see it as much of an issue, but I've had responses to the contrary so I suppose I'm wrong.

If everything goes according to plan, Moon and I will be moved out two weekends from now, which is very exciting, and weird. We're going to Ikea on Saturday and I'm quite excited. I've been scouting out nice textiles and thinking about things like mirrors, bins and towel racks.

Yesterday's Easter family gathering was lovely, but I have more to share about that later, I don't want to post too much all at once, like I did on Sunday.
I haven't set that many personal goals for this week, I inadvertently managed to stay up until gone 3AM last night sewing, so I think it's time I get back to some list-making as I'm sure there are plenty of things that need to be done.

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Anorak Kissing Rabbits Bath Linen, £4-£35, Heal's
I spied these in Heal's this afternoon and I was very tempted by the hand-towel although honestly I'd want the whole set. I just think the pattern may be a bit girly for Moon and we need to make decisions like that together. I'm sure the novelty would wear off too, however cute the colours and print are, I would really like them though.

(via Interior Porn/House of Turquoise)

Red or Dead Mountain Boots, £78, Schuh
I'm putting myself on a shoe and clothes ban for the foreseeable future, as it's a slight waste of money when I have to think about rent, bills and nice things for my home. I'd also like to afford to be able to have days out too. I have so many clothes anyway that I must have an infinite amount of outfit combinations, keeping up posts like this and posting for inspiration rather than 'must buy' might help out a bit. I have been thinking about cowboy boots for a while, these are nice but I'm a bit mistrusting of Red or Dead, having spent £75 on a pair of boots a few years ago, only for the them to break in just two months.


Pearl Lace Midi Skirt, £25, ASOS
This isn't that different from other skirts I have, but the colour is lovely.
The ASOS sale started today, maybe not the best day to begin a shop-fast but if I can resist ASOS, everything else should be a breeze.


Elephant-print Playsuit, £17.50, ASOS
I'm not really a playsuit person but the cut of the back and print of this one are adorable


This looks good.


'The Lorax Dinner Makeover'
I don't know much about Dr Seuss' 'The Lorax' but I know this pasta looks nice. Not sure about the blue Alfredo sauce though. A link to the recipe can be found here.

(via Tiny Tangerines)

In preparation for my upcoming Ikea trip, I stumbled across the Ikea iPad app, and it's amazing. It's basically everything an app should be, and it's so nice. I'll be sad when I have to settle for a regular catalogue once I no longer have access to the iPad.

(via Recovering Lazyholic)

Thanks to that silly EDF 'dancing poo' advert, I've had this song stuck in my head all week!

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Link Love: ♥

I'm on Pinterest — I finally caved, and I suppose it is a pretty great idea. I'm going to use it for what it was intended for, but I'm hoping it doesn't make posts like these redundant, this is still my blog after all. If you have any neat recipes or craft pins, that's what I'm there for and I'd love to see them! Interiors are also, naturally, appreciated.

House of Turquoise — A blog that showcases some of the best of turquoise interiors? What could be better, such a good pitstop for dreaming about my future home. It's not just about things being turquoise though (aqua and mint are also prominent), separate from the colours, the homes themselves also provide a great deal of inspiration.

Screenshots of Despair — A pretty bleak Tumblr looking at how lonely technology can be.

The Dainty Squid: Weekly Nail #8 — Very pretty nail art from Kaylah at The Dainty Squid, they're like eggs or rocks. There's also an interesting quip about whether people who paint their nails different colours are indecisive or even unemployable, I'm undecided.

Noble Pig: Pepperoni Pizza Puffs — These look incredible and will be the first recipe in my new, more permanent recipe notebook, I can't wait to try them out.

Fossil Cookies — A really cool decorating technique for cookies using plastic toy dinosaurs. Where was this recipe when I was growing up, I would have had a field day.

DIY Daisy Nail Art — Simple tutorial from Gem Fatale to make cute daisy nail art. I've been thinking about this for a while but couldn't get my head around a layout.

101 Most Useful Websites — Definitely a few here worth a bookmark.

The Second Hand Home Challenge — After only a little bit of creeping on Jen from 'A Little Bird Told Me's blog I came across the second-hand home challenge she gave herself last year. This was a pretty great find for me as I know we won't be able to buy brand new everything. Although there are some great tips for finding second-hand items, generally in terms of how to make a home I thought it was a great post. So many good storage ideas and storage is my favourite.

Great Logos with Hidden Meanings

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I'm off to structure my life. Have a good rest-of Tuesday. ♥

Photo A Day April: Day 02

Day 02 — Colour

I didn't encounter anything which much of an interesting colour today, but I thought this image suited the theme anyway. If nothing else, these colours were certainly inviting after the unnecessary stress brought on by a 2 and a half hour train journey accompanied by house viewings. Fingers crossed it won't have been for nothing and we'll know if we have somewhere come the end of the week.

Zzz.

So zapped from this week, I feel like my feet haven't touched the ground. Even when I've not actually been doing anything I've really stuck at keeping myself occupied. Today was a terrible day and I'm pretty sure I spent about a quarter of it in traffic jams, sure I wasn't driving but I had places to be.

Take-three of this week's house hunt in Newbury today and we were incredibly unsuccessful yet again. The first was incredibly overpriced and not that great anyway and the second had a great downstairs but awkward upstairs, not to mention a weird garden (although at least it had one) and was right next to a main road and so noisy inside. We're looking at a couple more on Monday, but Moon will be starting his job and it makes things very up in the air as to when we can view, especially seeing as his job will mainly involve driving so commuting to and from Dorking adds to this and I can't really afford to take the train down there to view houses all the time, especially three times a week.

The job hunt isn't looking much better either, I had a promising email letting me know I was the right candidate for the role but that I lived a bit far away, despite applying for it because it was closer to Newbury. It actually was about halfway between here and there but I never got a response when I explained that travelling wasn't an issue, and I've tried ringing but the contact never seems to be there. I haven't had a lot of time to look for jobs this week but I've been trying, having received two rejection letters by post and one rejection email this week, there's only so much bad luck I think I can continue to get... but onwards and upwards, something's bound to come up soon, etc.

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In slightly more positive news, the lovely NUJDM posse have used a couple of my photos in a report about the Leveson investigations. You can take a look at the articles here, and my photos were used here and here. It's quite hard to believe that NUJDM was nearly a year ago.

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At least the weather has been fun this week, I've nearly finished my chest, and I'm pretty proud of it really, I just hope it doesn't suddenly rain. Here's a photo of Moon looking like a babestation.

This outfit is from Monday, which I know is basically forever ago, but I had to share this dress with you, I'm so pleased with it. I don't know why I ever stopped rummaging in charity shops and online, I blame Portsmouth's shoddy charity offerings. These were taken on a quick walk by the canal whilst we were down in Newbury. We were actually looking at a flat that was practically on the canal, but sadly it was pokey, expensive, and generally not what we're looking for. Location-wise you couldn't fault it though, I'm definitely looking forward to being down there and taking Sunday strolls and feeding swans.


Dress: Charleen's Closet, Etsy
Necklaces: Primark, H&M
Belt: eBay
Tights: Primark
Socks: Primark
Boots: River Island




These guys were failing epically, but what a good effort

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It's time for me to catch up with more of The Tube and have another cup of tea.

Thanks for listening, hopefully I'll stop moaning soon. Have a good weekend.